F1 will live on without Toyota

Reuters - Wed, 04 Nov 16:15:00 2009

Big-spending Toyota's exit from Formula One leaves the sport accelerating towards a future with minimal Japanese involvement, less money and the balance of power swinging back to privately-owned teams.

2009 British GP Toyota Team - 0

While the manufacturers will still provide the backbone, there will be only three of them in 2010: FIAT-owned Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault.

Toyota join BMW and Honda in pulling out of the sport in the space of less than a year, with Renault seemingly minded to carry on despite their suspended permanent ban for involvement in a race-fixing scandal.

"Perhaps this is the end of a decade of manufacturer dominance in Formula One and what we will now see over the next decade is a sport that resembles much more closely the 1990s," Williams chief executive Adam Parr said.

The exodus is undeniably a blow to the sport's prestige and pulling power, but one that it will weather. Even without Toyota, there should still be more teams next season than there have been for years.

Mercedes are set to buck the trend by buying a majority stake in champions Brawn while maintaining, for the time being, their 40 per cent shareholding in McLaren.

Toyota, who entered in 2002, will join the ranks of those that came and went with barely a ripple. Their demise is to be regretted, but others on the Formula One scrapheap drew far more mourners to the funeral.

"As far as Formula One is concerned, it is just a fact of life that teams come and go," added Parr.

The truly unthinkable would be for glamour team Ferrari, who have graced the sport since 1950 and have more fans than anyone else, to quit but they need the sport as much as F1 needs them.

Lacking in glamour, and hamstrung by a rigid chain of command, Toyota threw money at the sport in a vain attempt to buy success. Their departure will be just as expensive and the irony is that it comes just as costs are coming down.

Closing down the Cologne F1 operation, with 650 staff, will not come cheap under German labour laws and a sale is not an option since the team was part of a Toyota car factory rather than being a standalone facility like Honda's.

Those losing their jobs will find a crowded market, with all teams having to scale down in line with agreed cost cutting measures.

With Toyota having signed only in August a binding commercial "Concorde Agreement" committing them until 2012, there could also be some hefty exit clauses payable to commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Just about the only positive is the lifeline Toyota have thrown to the former BMW-Sauber team, whose new owners have had to wait as official reserves hoping for a vacancy.

In theory, the 2010 starting grid will have 13 teams - three more than this year - although there are no guarantees that more will not depart before the Bahrain season-opener comes around in March.

Of those 13, five will be new privately-owned teams whose financial health cannot be taken for granted while the same number will be powered by a Cosworth engine that last saw service in 2006.

With sole tyre supplier Bridgestone pulling out at the end of 2010, new FIA president Jean Todt has some firefighting to do less than two weeks into his reign.

His predecessor Max Mosley fought to reduce costs, with the sport due to return to the levels of the early 1990s.

The departure of Toyota threatens to take it back to the early 1980s when there were no Japanese Grands Prix, teams, engine suppliers or drivers.

Honda-owned Suzuka has a deal to host the Japanese Grand Prix only until 2011 and it remains to be seen whether they will have the appetite to extend it without Japanese teams competing.

The arrival of ever more lavish circuits, with Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina raising the bar last weekend after Singapore in 2008, might give the impression that the sport is going from strength to strength.

And yet France has no grand prix, Britain is fighting to stay on the calendar and Belgium's Spa is groaning under the weight of heavy losses. Germany's two racetracks are also struggling.

The crowd at this year's Turkish Grand Prix was pitiful and there is still no confirmed race in North America.

Brawn and new champion Jenson Button provided Formula One with a feel-good story on the track this season. Off it, the reality looks a lot scarier.

Reuters

Comment 11 - 30 of 30

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  1. to everybody who gave me thumbs down, look at your­ factbook once again. Toyota NEVER WON A SINGLE RACE.­ Best effort was 2nd place.
    F1 will only be troubled if­ whether Ferrari or McLaren resigned from the sport.

    From Lukas, on Fri 6 Nov 10:55AM
  2. Brawn........Bumfluff Button with his FLUKE and­­­­ unearned title will be the "new"­­ Barrichello­­ at Brawn..Nico's whipping­­­­ boy..
    -
    Ferrfarti.....Alonso will cause no end of­­­­ trouble at Ferrfarti and Massa is a none­­­­ starter...
    -
    USF1 ...... U S h it F aggots­­­­ 1
    -
    Williams... yeah what ever.
    -
    Red bull-cr ap...­­­­ hahahahaaaa..
    -
    Toyota......nail biters
    -
    Manor­­­­ Cosworth.... phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Force­­­­ India....... phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Torro­­­­ Rosso....... phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Sauber ......­­­­ F1's very own deadwood­­ collection.
    -
    Lotus........­­ Resigned to the history­­ books forever.
    -
    Campos­­ Meta.......Spanish work shy­­ fops.
    -
    Renault...........­­ Lucky to be on the grid­ at­ all the French surrender­­ monkey's. (drivers­ need­ death wish)
    -
    -
    ...McLAREN­­ ..still under FULL­ control­ of the great Ron Dennis­ will­ have the­ YOUNGEST EVER­ WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPION and­ PROUD­­ Englishman Lewis­ Hamilton at the front next­ season­ ...­ no matter who­ gets the other drive..
    -
    ==­­ McLAREN WIN­ 2010­ CONSTRUCTORS == HAMILTON WINS 2010­­ WORLD DRIVERS­­ CHAMPIONSHIP ==
    -
    ...............­­ McLAREN TAKE­ 3rd..........Ferrfarti 4th­­­ .......yyyyyyyyyeeeeessssss!!!
    -
    -
    ...............­ POTTER = OFFICIALLY THE THICKEST ON F1­ SITE....YYYYEESSSS!!!!!.....

    From brucef1lee, on Fri 6 Nov 12:29AM
  3. 31-SUCKS TO BE YOU

    From LEEROY, on Thu 5 Nov 8:17PM
  4. 32-YOUR COMMENTS ARE LIKE PILES OF SHITT

    From FRESNO BOB, on Thu 5 Nov 8:04PM
  5. Agreed Rory.

    From Mark Swindells, on Thu 5 Nov 4:03PM
  6. 14-PRIC'K

    From FRESNO BOB, on Thu 5 Nov 2:43PM
  7. Art Tidesco: Aboout the only thing Toyota did right was­ build­ in Germany :-)

    Yes Art you can tell that by the­ number of GPs they won.

    From Sir Stanley Gubbins, on Thu 5 Nov 1:03PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    t=soborin
    ferari=acheatakersabuton wuhaha

    From sven, on Thu 5 Nov 7:04AM
  9. I agree wizzo Toyota could well afford to compete and­ pay the fee's.
    But and it's a big­ "But."
    Once the spending cap is implemented­ and they can no longer throw hundreds of millions at­ their car they will look really bad compared to say­ -Williams who already spend at the spending cap levels.

    From Walking quiet, on Thu 5 Nov 5:11AM
  10. the fine for pulling out early......will be less than­ playing the grid for three more years.
    but the FIA will­ probabaly demand a truck load of yen.
    tough decision on­ toyota's part but the money just didn't flow­ because of the old bush economy legacy.....i wish they­ could of hung on for a few more years.
    the new teams­ could very easilly get by with what sir spankalot­ demanded this past summer......very low budgets and who­ knows what he asked for in the engine department.
    i­ hope F1 will have a decent race season next year.

    From cabana boy, on Thu 5 Nov 2:06AM
  11. Toyota never became major player in F1.
    Their loss will­ be insignificant.
    Perhaps, there will be less fans in­ Japan.

    From Lukas, on Thu 5 Nov 1:42AM
  12. doesnt look good for f1 does it

    From duanefurmston, on Thu 5 Nov 1:28AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    hello my f1 maddies, it marnio here from peru.
    it is­­ very good that the toyota leave the f1. they make­­ boring cars for the elderly and infirm who are waiting­­ for the next life. toyota will soon go the bankrupt­ and­ then the most boring chapter in the automative­ the­ history will come to an end. f1 is better without­­ them.
    next the renault will leave and the then we will­­ only haver to eliminate the mclaren ruffians, who are­­ owned by the mercedes, and then f1 will be great­­ again.
    goodbye the toyota and the good ridrinse, you­­ boring pigs.

    From marnio from peru, on Thu 5 Nov 1:11AM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Toyota has not been in Indy car for ages it's been­ a Honda only IRL show for a good number of years­ :-)

    Aboout the only thing Toyota did right was build­ in Germany :-)

    From art_tidesco, on Wed 4 Nov 11:49PM
  15. agree completely with Neil's post. Toyota is­ conservative running the team and designing their cars.­ Think about it, their best results were matched by­ Sutil and Fischicella because ForceIndia truely ran on­ the edge with their outrages topspeed with so little­ downforce. ForceIndia was bad on most tracks, but they­ definitely shined noticably in the low downforce tracks­ like Monza and Spa and even Monaco. If it wasn't­ Kimi was having the Kers and somehow got infront of­ Fischicella, ForceIndia might have gotten a win there­ at Spa. I'm not saying that they should've ran­ a program like ForceIndia, but Toyota should have taken­ a bit more risk, such as raising the output of the­ engine with the trade off for a bit reliability. Hiring­ an edgier driver instead of employing both conservative­ drivers like Trulli and Glock. Both of these drivers­ didn't take much risk from the past 2-3 years. Too­ late. Bye Toyota.

    From Andy W H, on Wed 4 Nov 10:47PM
  16. Some fair comments so ridiculous I have been watching­ F1 since 71 so I have seen stuff come and go But Bernie­ has improved reliability with the partnerships he­ struck with the manufacturers if you think any­ different take a look at how many cars started the race­ to how may would finish.Don't like the bloke but­ he's done a good job as for Toyota F1 Hired the­ wrong Schumaker and ran the team to conservatively

    From Neil, on Wed 4 Nov 9:46PM
  17. Renault is next.

    Here is the thing, how much money­ will team save by NOT racing in the rest of the world,­ with the exception of Brazil and Canada (actually US as­ well, not the best circuit, but cheap tickets and cool­ crowd)? Bring back V10's, no refueling. Instead of­ testing in the off season, allow for testing on­ Thursdays, I am sure fans will love it. And yes, and­ bring back Imola and Silverstone.

    From CoolVybz, on Wed 4 Nov 9:25PM
  18. #

    'I have said that Renault will withdraw­ before­ the start of NEXT season, just like Honda. There­ are­ still 6 months to go. Plenty of time for them to do­ a­ u-turn and pull the plug on F1'.
    From Biggles, on­ Wed 4 Nov 10:32AM

    I have just heard on BBC ( so it­ must be true!) that Renault are having a meeting­ tomorrow, 5th Nov, to decide their future in F1. They­ could stay or withdraw completely or just provide­ engines. If they go, as I still keep suggesting they­ will, then F1 will have lost their tyres and the last­ 2 manufacturers in one week.
    Despite what a lot of­ people on this forum think and post it is obvious that­ Renault have NOT yet decided to remain within F1­ otherwise they would not be having the meeting.

    From Biggles, on Wed 4 Nov 9:18PM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Brawn........Bumfluff Button with his FLUKE and­­­­ unearned title will be the "new"­­ Barrichello­­ at Brawn..Nico's whipping­­­­ boy..
    -
    Ferrfarti.....Alonso will cause no end of­­­­ trouble at Ferrfarti and Massa is a none­­­­ starter...
    -
    USF1 ...... U S h it F aggots­­­­ 1
    -
    Williams... yeah what ever.
    -
    Red bull-cr ap...­­­­ hahahahaaaa..
    -
    Toyota......ITS ALL OVER­ !!!!
    -
    Manor­­­ Cosworth....­ phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Force­­­ India.......­ phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Torro­­­ Rosso.......­ phuuuaaaaaaarrrrrrppppp
    -
    Sauber ......­­­ F1's­ very own deadwood­ collection.
    -
    Lotus........­­­ Resigned to the history­ books forever.
    -
    Campos­­­ Meta.......Spanish work shy­­ fops.
    -
    Renault...........­­ Lucky to be on the grid­ at­ all the French surrender­­ monkey's. (drivers­ need­ death wish)
    -
    -
    ...McLAREN­­ ..still under FULL­ control­ of the great Ron Dennis­ will­ have the­ YOUNGEST EVER­ WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPION and­ PROUD­­ Englishman Lewis­ Hamilton at the front next­ season­ ...­ no matter who­ gets the other drive..
    -
    ==­­ McLAREN WIN­ 2010­ CONSTRUCTORS == HAMILTON WINS 2010­­ WORLD DRIVERS­­ CHAMPIONSHIP ==
    -
    ...............­­ McLAREN TAKE­ 3rd..........Ferrfarti 4th­­­ .......yyyyyyyyyeeeeessssss!!!

    ++++++++++++++++­ POTTER = THICKEST ON F1 SITE­ +++++++++++++++++++
    ++++++++++++++++ TOURONROUTE = SAME­ AS POTTER +++++++++++++++++++

    From brucef1lee, on Wed 4 Nov 9:15PM
  20. Ellie #1, I think the issue is more that the FIA and­ Bernie courted the big manufacturers into F1 through­ the 90's and into the 2000's at the complete­ expense of the indy teams, and actually conspired to­ keep new teams out in order to get the car companies­ in. Whilst, crucially, making no real solid fundamental­ safety net for if they pulled out.

    Is anyone really­ convinced that the Cosworth deal was anything other­ than hastily pulled together? Or is anyone thinking­ that the Cosworth engine is REALLY going to be up to­ the job right away? (Although I'd love to be proved­ wrong).

    You're right totally that it doesn't­ really matter that it is a grid full of independent­ teams racing as long as they perform and we don't­ have the likes of Symteks again failing to even qualify­ for races. But when you've structured the­ participants in your sport around large manufacturers,­ who pull out without notice and you haven't made­ any fundamental plans for it far enough in advance, you­ have to say the Symtek scenario from the early 90's­ looks likely. And that's just embarrassing if­ nothing else!

    My only hope is the CVC's share­ price drops SO low next year if the sport does become a­ joke that the CVC board finally act and remove Bernie.­ After all, there is nobody else left to blame is there­ now...

    From spunky_the_rabbit, on Wed 4 Nov 7:25PM
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